Apparatus for manipulating brakes



1 vH." E. ANDERSON,

APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING BRAKES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 5, 1921 H. E. ANDERSON U APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING BRAKES Filed Aug. 5, 1

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. E. ANDERSON APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING BRAKES Filed Aug. 5, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet Patented Dec. 2, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARLEY E. ANDERSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO 0. H. BOSWORTH, CHARLES B. MOORE, C. A. CARSCADIN, AND JOHN H. S. LEE, COPAR'INEIRS DOING BUSINESS UNDER THE FIRM NAME OF BOSWO'RTH, MOORE & CARSCAJIN.

APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING BRAKES.

Application filed August 5, 1921. Serial No. 490,080.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARLEY E. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Mfanipulating Brakes, of which the followin is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus operable by hand for setting and releasing the brakes of a railway car, the invention being concerned more particularly with a brake operating apparatus. of the type employing a hand lever which, with its associated mechanism, sets the brakes by giving an upward pull on a rod, or. equivalent element on the outside of the car, which upward pull is transmitted by suitable devices into a substantially horizontal pull on the brake beams. An apparatus of this sort may be used to great advantage on a freight car in place of the usual brake staff and hand wheel since it is capable of being manipulated more conveniently and safely, is more certain in its operation, affords a quicker take-up of the slack in the brake connections, and can be constructed to apply a very considerable braking force to the wheels of the car without undue exertion on the part of the trainman.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide, in a brake apparatus of the type indicated, an improved lever actuated mechanism for applying' power to the brake connections (especially to the substantially vertically disposed pull rod on' the outside of the car) whichcan be operated in setting and releasing the brakes, conveniently, safely, effectively and with a minimum of exertion on the part of the trainman; and which consists of a. few simple parts of strong and durable construction so that the cost of manufacture, installation and up-keep will be relatively low.

It is another object to provide such a construction so arranged that the brake can be readily actuated by hand whenv desired, and to arrange the parts in'such a manner that substantially a full stroke of the operating lever shall'be available for such installation quite regardless of the wear upon the parts. .The invention contemplates the use of a bell crank or rocking member which pivots on a fixed axis, although in its broader aspect the invention is not limited to a transmission element of this description. The invention, however, provides, for use in this connection, a bell crank which is pivotally mounted on the car without use of a separate pin or bolt which, if employed, is likely to become detached or broken, or may be lost when the parts are disassembled for repair.

The invention consists in the new and improved constructions, arrangements and devices to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above stated objects and such other incidental objects as will be mentioned in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein.

Fig. 1 is a. side elevation of the apparatus shown as applied to the end of a box car.

Fig. 2 is another view, in elevation, but taken from a point at 90 from the point of view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view of the rack for operating the pull rod. 'FFig. 4 is a sectional plan on line 4-4 of Fig. 5 is a sectional plan on line 55 of Fi 6. Fig. 6 is a sectionalplan on line 6-6 of,

Fig. 7 is a view, in perspective, of the detent for holding the rack in its elevated position.

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the tripping device associated with the detent.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view, on line 9-9 of Fig. 5 but showing only the housing, the detent and thetrip being omitted. I V

Fig. 10 is a side elevation, with parts in section, to illustrate the construction of the bell crank andth'e means for mounting the same on the car.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view on line 11-11 of Fig. 10-.

Fig.12 is a fragmentary view, in perspec tive, of'a portion of the bell prank.

Fig. 13 is an inverted plan view of the casting by means of which the bell crank is mounted on the car, and

Fig. 14 is-a sectional view on line 1-1-14 of Fig. 13. I

The brake opera-ting apparatus is shown in the drawings as installed against the end wall of a railway box car, the power applying or lifting mechanism being arranged obliquely with respect to the end of the car (as shown particularly in Fig. for convenience in manipulating the lever.

designates a chain, or other flexible connection,- which extends under the car body and is attached to and forms part of the mechanism, hereinafter referred to as the brake rigging, for applying the brake shoes to the wheels of the car. 11 is a bell crank pivotally mounted, as will be hereinafter described, on the under side of the car body and formed with an integral hook 12 to which chain 10 is engaged'in the manner described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 490,079 filed August 5, 1921; the bell crank being formed with a curved, preferably grooved portion 13 over which the chain is flexed when the bell crank is rocked. 14 is a pull rod engaged with a rack 15 and formed at its lower end with a clevis 16' secured by a pin 17 to the bell crank 11. The bell crank changes the vertical movement of pull rod 14 to a substantially horizontal pull on the chain 10.

While the transmission device as above described is preferred in this connection, any other suitable means might be employed for transmitting power from the pull rod to the chain, or its equivalent, such, for example, as that shown in my copending application referred to.

The rack 15 extends into a housing 18 formed with obliquely arranged ears 19 for attaching the housing to the end sheathing 20 of the car. The housing 18 is closed on the top except for an opening 21 through which therack 15 projects when raised, the rack being formed with a head 22 which substantially closes opening 21 when the rack is, in its lower or normal position. The housing is formed on one side with a slot 23 and opposite said slot with an interior web 24 formed with a vertical slot 25. 26

is a hand lever formed with a stud, the middle portion 27 of which is square in cross section and has fixed thereto a mutilated which lies within and has a diameter slightly less than the width of slot 23. At the other side of pinion 28 the lever stud is formed with a ournal 32 adapted to fit the slot 25.

26 is formed with a retaining head 33 lying within an offset portion 34 of the housing and bearing against web 24. The slots 23, are arcuate at the bottom providing bear- 18 is formed with an oflset 37 in which is arranged a detent 38 having a tooth 39 adapted to engage the holding teeth 36 on the rack. The under surface 40 of the tooth 39 is oblique and normally bears against the oblique surface 41 of the upper holdingtooth on rack 15. The offset portion 37 of the housing is formed interiorly with bearings 42 for arcuate webs 43 on the lower end of detent 38. The tail piece 44 of the detent projects out through an opening" 45 in the housing and is normally engaged by a lug 46 formed on the trip member 47. The latter is pivoted by means of a pin 48 between a pair of arms 49, 49 projecting outwardly from the housing. The trip is formed at its outer portion with a weight 50. The body of detent 38 lies within a narrowed portion 51 of offset 37. The webs 43 on the detent 38 are formed with lugs 52 which are adapted to be engaged by lugs 53 on the rack 15 when the latter drops from a raised position to its normal position. This engagement of lugs 53 with lugs 52 automatically returns the detent 38 to its operative position from which it has been moved by reversing the position of trip 47 when the brakes are released. The lever 26 is provided with an extension plate 54 which, in the normal position of the lever, covers slot 23.

The channel portion 13 of the bell crank, which receives the chain '10 when the bell crank is rocked to take up slack in the brake connections, is preferably formed, as best shown in Fig. 10, on a curve which is eccentric with reference to the pivotal axis of the bell crank. That is to say, the surface over which the chain is flexed approaches such pivotal axis from the point of engagement of the chain with hook 12. This results in efi'ectively shortening the lever arm of the bell crank which produces the pull upon the chain as the bell crank is rocked in the op eration of applying the brakes. During the first part of the movement of the bell crank the essential thing is to take up slack in the chain 10 and in the brake connections to which the chain is attached as quickly as possible. But when the brake shoes have been brought against the wheels it is desirable to have the lever arm operating on the chain as short as possible so as to multiply The end of the stud remote from the lever the power exerted through operation of the hand lever 26. The curvature of the portion 13 of the bell crank gives the desired quick take-up and multiplied power at the time the brakes are being set.

Ill

turned to engage its clevis 16 with the bell crank and this turns the head 59 at substantially right angles to the opening 57. The construction ofv the bell crank and casting on which it is mounted is illustrated in Figs. 10 to 14 inclusive. The bell crank is formed with gudgeons 60, 60 adapted to bear against curbed surfaces 61 formed in the lower edges of a pair of spaced depending flanges 62 formed on a casting or bracket member 63 bolted, as indicated at 64, to the under side of the car body and formed preferably with a flange 65 overlapping the end of the. car body. The

flanges 62 are formed with inwardly pro-' jecting studs 66 forming a support for an arcuate web 67 on the bell crank. This web is formed with a pair of notches 68 arranged so that the bell crank may be engaged with the bracket member 63 by placing the bell crank in such position. with respect to the bracket that notches 68 will register with the studs 66. This position of assembling and disassembling is, of course, outside of the operative range of angular movement of the bell crank so that when the installation has been completed, disengagement of the bell crank from the bracket is impossible without disassembling the apparatus.

Operation To set the brakes the trainman, who ordinarily stands on a platform (not shown) on the end of the car, raises the lever 26, turning the same to the left as, the

parts of the-apparatus are shown in Fig. 1.

The teeth 29 on pinion 28 engage the teeth 30 on rack 15. raising the rack and exerting a pull through rod 15 and bell crank 11 on the chain 10 forming part of the brake rigging on the underside of the car. Ordinarily it will require several oscillations of the lever to take up the slack in the brake connections and set the brakes. The lever,

' in such case, may be raised as far as is 29 have passedout of mesh with the teeth 30 on the rack, whereupon the pinion and lever willdrop to their normal position. That is, the journals 31, 32 on the pivot stud of the lever will slide downwardlydn slots 23, 25 until they rest inthe curved lower ends of the slots.

To release the brakes the trip 47 is reversed so that weight 50 bears against the upper side of the tail piece 44 of detent 38. This movement of the trip is not intended to disengage the detent from the holding teeth of the rack. In order to effect such disengagement, it is necessary jto raise the rack by an upward pullon lever 26 sulficiently to relieve the detent of the downward thrust imposed on it by t e rack. As

soon as the detent is relieve from this thrust the weight of the trip will throw the detent backwardly in the pocket 51 of the housing and the lever having been released by the trainman, the rack will fall to its normal position. At the end of the downward travel of the rack the lugs 53 thereon come into contact with the lugs 52 on detent 38, and the detent is rocked back to its normal position, the .force of the blow against the same being sufiicient to return the trip 47 to its-normal position. For indicating to the trainman the proper manipulation of the trip 47, the weight 50 of the tripdevice bears on its upper face the word Set in theposition of the trip for permitting continued operation of the detent 38. Upon the opposite face of the weight 50 of the trip device, which opposite face isuppermost when the trip is turned for causing the detent 38 to be thrown out of operation, I have provided the word Release, the words Set, and Release being applied preferably by being cast directly upon the weight. Y

As will be readily understood, inthe cp eration of the brake the trainman may'take up the slack and bring the brakes into contact with the wheels by either short or long strokes of the lever 26. When the'slack is all taken up, however, it is desirable that the lever 26 be then moved to the bottom of its operative stroke so as to bring the teeth 29 into engagement with the lowest possible teeth 30 of the rack. The trainman. is then in position, by a single stroke, to bring the breaks into completely set condition, regardless of the amount of wear ofjtiie parts. It the trainman desires, as is very often the case, he 'may then throw the trip'f47 into position for releasing the detent 38, leaving him then in complete control of the car, by hand. Under these circumstances, the trainman may apply just as much pressure as he desires upon the brakes, from the zero pressure of original contact when the slack is I completely taken up, to the approximately full pressure of four to eight thousand pounds if desired. He can vary the pres sure as desired to meet'changing,conditions of track, grade. etc., the only requirement being that he does not lower the lever 26 All) suiliciently to release the teeth 29 from the rack,

As is best shown in 5, a headed rivet 69 is preferably inserted in the housing 18- abo've the opening" after assembly is completed, for preventing the removal of the lever l: do not claim as my invention the particular means shown in Figs 10 to llinclusive for pivotingthe bell crank to the car body; nor do I claim broadly the eccentric configuration of the portion of the bell crank over which the chain Winds whereby the ellective lever arm of the bell crank acting on the chain is shortened as the brake shoes approach the set positionl l claim:

1.. in apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a power transmission element movable in the direction of its length, and lever oscillatable in a substantially vertical plane and provided with means which, when the lever is raised, engages directly with and moves the transmission element and, when the lever is released by the operator, is automatically disengaged from the transmission element.

2. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a power transmission element movable in the direction of its length, a lever oscillatable in a substantially vertical plane and provided with means adapted, when the lever is raised, to engage and move the transmission element and, when the lever is released by the operator, automatically by the weight of the lever to be released from the transmission element, and means acting positively on the upward stroke of the lever to cause operative engagement of the lever with the transmission element.

3. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a power transmission element movable in. the direction of its length, and a lever oscillatable in a. substantially vertical plane and provided with means which when the lever is raised, engages directly with and moves the transmission element, and, when the lever is released by the operator; is automatically disengaged from the transmission element allowing the lever to return by gravity to its normal position.

4. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a power transmission element movable in the direction of its length, and a lever oscillatable in a substantially vertical plane and provided with means whicluwhen the lever is raised, is actuated positively'for engaging and moving the transmission element and, when the lever is released by the operator,

is automatically disengaged from the transmission element by the weight of the lever allowing the lever to return by gravity to its normal position 5. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a power transmission element movable in the direction of its length and a lever provided with means for engaging and moving the transmission element when the lever is given an angular movement in one direclion, said lever being mounted so that its pivot is movable along a path pan llei with the transmission element to allow disengage ment of the lever from the transmission element when the lever is given a movement in the direction opposite to that specified.

6v In apparatus for manipulotii the brakes of a railway car, the eon'ibination of a vertically disposed transmission clement movable in the direction of its length and a lever oscillatable in a substantially vertical plane with means for engaging and moving the transmission element when the lever is raised, said lever being mounted so that its pivot is movable along a path parallel with the transmission element to allow disenpage ment of the lever from the transmission element on the return movement of" the lever.

7'. In apparatus for manipulating; the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a rack, a lever having lined thereto a mutilated pinion adapted to engage said rack, and means for mounting the lever which permits a movement of its pivot parallel with said rack.

8. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combinathm of a substantially vertical raclv, a, lever adapted to be oscillated in a substantially vertical plane, a mutilated pinion fixed to said lever on its axis of oscillation, and means for mounting the lever which permits said pinion to move upwardly from its nor mal position in parallelism with the rock.

9.. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a housing, a vertically disposed rack extending into the housing, a lever provided with a substantially horizontal pivot stud projecting into the housing, guides for the pivot stud allowing substantially vertical movement thereof in the housing, and a mutilated pinion fixed to said stud.

10. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a housing formed with. a vertical slot, a vertically disposed rack extending into the housing, a lever provided with a substantially horizontal pivot stud projecting into the housing through said slot, guides for the pivot stud allowing substantially vertical movement thereof in the housin 5;, a mutilated pinion fixed to said stud, and a plate on the lever adapted, in the normal position of the lever, to cover said slot.

11. In apparatus for manipulating the ill brakes of a railway car, the combination of a housing, a vertically disposed rack extending into the housing,a lever provided with a substantially horizontal pivot stud projecting into the housing, guides for the pivot stud allowin substantially vertical movement thereo' in the housing, a mutilated pinion fixed to said stud, said rack being formed with holding teeth, a detent in said housing to engage said teeth, and a trip adapted in one position to hold the detent in engagement with said teeth and in another position to disengage the detent from the teeth.

12. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a housing, a vertically disposed rack extending into the housing, a lever provided with a substantially horizontal pivot stud projecting into the housing, guides for the pivot stud allowing substantially vertical movement thereof in the housing, a mutilated pinion fixed to said stud, said rack being formed with holding teeth, a detent in said housing to engage said teeth, a trip adapted in one position to hold the detent in engagement with said teeth and in another position to disengage the detent from the teeth, and a bearing formed in said housing having a rounded upper surface, the detent being formed with a rounded web to engage said bearing.

13. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a'housing formed-with oppositely disposed vertical slots, a lever having a pivot stud formed with journals arranged in said slots, a vertical rack extending into the housing, and a mutilated pinion fixed to said pivot stud and adapted to engage said rack.

14. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a housing formed with oppositely disposed vertical slots, a lever having a pivot stud formed with journals arranged in said slots, a vertical rack extending into the housing, and a mutilated pinion fixed to said pivot stud and adapted to engage said rack, the end of the pivot stud remote from the lever being formed with a retaining head and the slot adjacent thereto with an enlargement to admit the head when the parts of the mecha nism are assembled. I

15. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a vertical. rack, a lever oscillatable in a vertical plane having a pinion fixed thereto which is adapted to engage said rack when the lever is raised, and to be automatically disengaged therefrom when the lever is released.

16. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a bell crank at the bottom of the car body, a connection from said bell crank to the brake rigging, a vertically disposed pull rod connected with the bell crank, and a lever oseillatable in a vertical plane adapted, when raised, to engage directly with the pull rod and raise the same, and, when released, to be automatically disengaged from the pull rod and returned to its normal position by gravity.

1?. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a bell crank at the bottom of the car body, a connection from said bell crank to the brake rigging, a vertically disposed pull rod connected with the bell crank and provided with a rack, and a lever oscillatable in a vertical plane provided with a pinion adapted, when the lever is raised, to engage directly with said rack and, when the lever is released, to be automatically disengaged from the rack.

18. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a bell crank at the bottom-of the car body, a connection from said bell crank t0 the brake rigging, a vertically disposed pull rod connected with the bell crank, a lever oscillatable in a vertical plane adapted, when raised, to engage directly with the pull rod and raise the same, and, when released, to be automatically disengaged from the pull rod and returned to its normal position by gravity, and a detent device for holding the pull rod in its raised position.

19. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the. combination of a bell crank at the bottom of the car body, a chain connected with said bell crank and with the brake rigging, said bell crankbeing formed with a curved surface over which the chain is placed when the bell crank is rocked, .a vertically disposed pull rod connected with the bell crank and provided with a rack, and a lever oscillatable. in a vertical plane provided with a pinion adapted, when the lever is raised, to engage said rack and, when the lever is released, to be automatically disengaged from the rack.

20. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a vertical rack, a housing for the upper end of the rack, the top of which is formed with an opening through which the rack extends when raised, the rack being formed with a cap piece which closes said opening when the rack is in its lowermost position.

21. In apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway carf the combination of a substantially vertical transmission the brakes of mal position by gravity, and releasable means for holding the transmission element at any elevated position.

22. In brake operating mechanism, the combination of a power applying device obliquely disposed on the car body, and comprising a substantially vertical rack formed at its lower end with a housing having an oblique slot in the bottom, a bell crank on the car oscillating in a plane longitudinal with respect to the car, and a pull rod adapted to be connected with the bell crank and having a head at its upper end which is adapted to pass through said slot and to stand at an angle thereto when the rod engages the bell crank. g i

In an apparatus for manipulating a railway car, the combination of a member having a series of teeth movable in one direction for applying the brakes, a second member having a series of teeth adapted to mesh with said first named toothed member, a lever operatively connected with said second member adapted by alternate strokes in opposite directions to move said first named member alternately in the directions for tightening and loosening the brakes, and holding means adapted to be thrown alternatively into and out of operative position and adapted when in operative position to hold the first named member against movement upon the stroke of the lever in the direction for loosening the brakes, serving to cause the second toothed member to move out of mesh with said first named member, the arrangement being such that the lever is adapted to be brought to the beginning of its operative stroke, and the holding means then thrown out of operation, at the time when the brakes are first brought into contact with the wheels for the final efi'ective stroke of the lever.

24. In an apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of -'a member having a series of teeth movable in one direction for applying the brakes, a second member havinga series of teeth adapted to mesh with said first named toothed member, a lever operatively connected with said second member ada ted by alternate strokes in opposite directions to move said first named member alternately in the directions for tightening and loosening the brakes, and holding means adapted to be thrown alternatively into and out of operative position and adapted when in operative position, to hold the first named member against movement upon the stroke of the lever in the direction for loosening the brakes, serving to cause the second toothed member to move out of mesh with said first'named member, the. arrangement being such that at any time when the pressure is relieved from the holding means by the lever such holding means can be thrown out of operation for a final actuating stroke of the lever.

25. In an apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a member having a series of teeth movable in one direction for applying the brakes, a second member having a series of teeth adapted to mesh with said first named toothed member, a lever operatively connected with said second member adapted by' a stroke in one direction to move said first named member for applying the brakes, releasable means for holding said first named toothed member against movement in the direction for releasing the brakes whereby said lever upon a stroke in the direction for releasing the brakes serves to move said second named toothed member out of mesh with said first named toothed member, and movable means adapted in one position to retain said releasable holding means in operative position and adapted in another position to move said releasable holding means out of operative position.

26. In an apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a member having a series of teeth movable in one direction for applying the brakes, a second member having a series of teeth adapted to mesh with said first named toothed member, a lever operatively connected with said second member adapted by a stroke in one direction to move said first named member for applying the brakes, releasable means for holding said first named toothed member against movement in the direction for releasing the brakes whereby said lever upon a stroke in the direction for releasing the brakes serves to move said second named toothed member out of mesh with said first named toothed member, movable means adapted in one position to retain said releasable holding means in operative position and adapted in another position to move said releasable holding means out of operative position, and means adapted upon the complete brake loosening movement of the first named toothed member to give said movable means a movement into position to perm-it operation of said releasable holding means.

27. In an apparatus for manipulating the brakes of a railway car, the combination of a member having a series of teeth movable in one direction for applying the brakes, a second member having a series of teeth adapted to mesh with said first named toothed member, a leveroperatively connected With said second member adapted by a stroke in one direction to move said first named member for applying the brakes, a detent for holding said first named toothed member against movement in the direction for releasing the brakes whereby said lever named toothed member, 5 ed in one position to retain position, and means adapted upon the complete brake loosening movement of the first named toothed member to give said trip a movement into position to permit said detent to operate upon the subsequent tightening of the brakes.

HARLEY E. ANDERSON. 

